Textboxes in a Word document serve as versatile containers for text, enabling users to enhance layout and design. They allow for the separation of content from the main body, making documents more visually appealing and organized. Extracting or updating textboxes can be essential for improving document efficiency, ensuring information is current, and facilitating data analysis.

In this article, you will learn how to extract or update textboxes in a Word document using Python and Spire.Doc for Python.

• Extract Text from a Textbox in Word
• Update Text in a Textbox in Word

Install Spire.Doc for Python

This scenario requires Spire.Doc for Python and plum-dispatch v1.7.4. They can be easily installed in your Windows through the following pip command.

pip install Spire.Doc

If you are unsure how to install, please refer to this tutorial: How to Install Spire.Doc for Python on Windows

Extract Text from a Textbox in Word

Using Spire.Doc for Python, you can access a specific text box in a document by utilizing the Document.TextBoxes[index] property. After retrieving the text box, you can iterate through its child objects to identify whether each one is a paragraph or a table. If the object is a paragraph, you can retrieve its text using the Paragraph.Text property. In cases where the object is a table, you will need to loop through each cell to extract text from every individual cell within that table.

The steps to extract text from a text box in a Word document are as follows:

• Create a Document object.
• load a Word file by using Document.LoadFromFile() method.
• Access a specific text box using Document.TextBoxes[index] property.
• Iterate through the child objects within the text box.
• Determine if a child object is a paragraph. If it is, retrieve the text from the paragraph using Paragraph.Text property.
• Check if a child object is a table. If so, iterate through the cells in the table to extract text from each cell.

from spire.doc import *
from spire.doc.common import *

# Create a Document object
document = Document()

# Load a Word file
document.LoadFromFile("C:\\Users\\Administrator\\Desktop\\input.docx")

# Get a specific textbox
textBox = document.TextBoxes.get_Item(0)

with open('ExtractedText.txt','w') as sw:

    # Iterate through the child objects in the textbox
    for i in range(textBox.ChildObjects.Count):

        # Get a specific child object    
        object = textBox.ChildObjects.get_Item(i)

        # Determine if the child object is paragraph
        if object.DocumentObjectType == DocumentObjectType.Paragraph:

            # Write paragraph text to txt file
            sw.write((object if isinstance(object, Paragraph) else None).Text + "\n")

        # Determine if the child object is table
        if object.DocumentObjectType == DocumentObjectType.Table:
            table = object if isinstance(object, Table) else None
            for i in range(table.Rows.Count):
                row = table.Rows[i]
                for j in range(row.Cells.Count):
                    cell = row.Cells[j]
                    for k in range(cell.Paragraphs.Count):
                        paragraph = cell.Paragraphs.get_Item(k)

                        # Write paragrah text of a specific cell to txt file
                        sw.write(paragraph.Text + "\n")

# Dispose resources
document.Dispose()

Update Text in a Textbox in Word

To update a textbox in a Word document, start by clearing its existing content with the TextBox.ChildObjects.Clear() method. This action removes all child objects, including any paragraphs or tables currently contained within the textbox. After clearing the content, you can add a new paragraph to the text box. Once the paragraph is created, set its text to the desired value.

The steps to update a textbox in a Word document are as follows:

• Create a Document object.
• Load a Word file using Document.LoadFromFile() method.
• Get a specific textbox using Document.TextBoxes[index] property
• Remove existing content of the textbox using TextBox.ChildObjects.Clear() method.
• Add a paragraph to the textbox using TextBox.Body.AddParagraph() method.
• Add text to the paragraph using Paragraph.AppendText() method.
• Save the document to a different Word file.

from spire.doc import *
from spire.doc.common import *

# Create a Document object
document = Document()

# Load a Word file
document.LoadFromFile("C:\\Users\\Administrator\\Desktop\\Input.docx")

# Get a specific textbox
textBox = document.TextBoxes.get_Item(0)

# Remove child objects of the textbox
textBox.ChildObjects.Clear()

# Add a new paragraph to the textbox
paragraph = textBox.Body.AddParagraph()

# Set line spacing
paragraph.Format.LineSpacing = 15.0

# Add text to the paragraph
textRange = paragraph.AppendText("The text in this textbox has been updated.")

# Set font size
textRange.CharacterFormat.FontSize = 15.0

# Save the document to a different Word file
document.SaveToFile("UpdateTextbox.docx", FileFormat.Docx2019);

# Dispose resources
document.Dispose()

Apply for a Temporary License

If you'd like to remove the evaluation message from the generated documents, or to get rid of the function limitations, please request a 30-day trial license for yourself.

Extracting and repurposing elements from PowerPoint presentations is a valuable skill for cross-platform content sharing. By converting shapes from slides into standalone image files, users can seamlessly integrate them into documents, web pages, or design projects without losing their original formatting and visual effects. With Python, this process becomes straightforward. In this article, we'll explore how to use Spire.Presentation for Python to save shapes from presentation slides as image files with simple Python code.

• Save Shapes from Slides as Image Files with Python
• Save Images from Slides with Formatting as Images Files

Install Spire.Presentation for Python

This scenario requires Spire.Presentation for Python and plum-dispatch v1.7.4. They can be easily installed in your Windows through the following pip command.

pip install Spire.Presentation

If you are unsure how to install, please refer to: How to Install Spire.Presentation for Python on Windows

Save Shapes from Slides as Image Files with Python

Spire.Presentation for Python provides the Slide.Shapes.SaveAsImage(shapIndex: int, dpiX: int, dpiY: int) method to save shapes in presentation slides as images with the specified  DPI(optional). With this method, developers can save either a specific shape or all shapes in a PowerPoint presentation. The detailed steps are as follows:

• Create an instance of Presentation class.
• Load a PowerPoint presentation using Presentation.LoadFromFile() method.
• Get a slide using Presentation.Slides.get_Item() method.
• Iterate through the shapes in the slide:
  • Save each shape as an image stream using Slide.Shapes.SaveAsImage() method.
  • Save the image stream as an image file using Stream.Save() method.

from spire.presentation import *

# Create an instance of Presentation
presentation = Presentation()

# Load a PowerPoint file
presentation.LoadFromFile("Sample.pptx")

# Get the first slide
slide = presentation.Slides.get_Item(3)

# Save the shape as an image stream
for i in range(slide.Shapes.Count):
  imageStream = slide.Shapes.SaveAsImage(i, 256, 256)
  # Save the image
  imageStream.Save(f"output/Shapes/ShapeToImage{i}.png")

# Release resources
presentation.Dispose()

Save Images from Slides with Formatting as Images Files

By using the methods provided by Spire.Presentation for Python, developers can also save images from slides as image files while preserving the edits and formatting applied to them. This requires first checking if the shape is an object of SlidePicture class, and if so, the shape can be saved as an image file. The detailed steps are as follows:

• Create an instance of Presentation class.
• Load a PowerPoint presentation using Presentation.LoadFromFile() method.
• Get a slide using Presentation.Slides.get_Item() method.
• Iterate through the shapes in the slide:
  • Check if each shape is an object of SlidePicture class.
  • If it is, save the shape as an image stream using Slide.Shapes.SaveAsImage() method.
  • Save the image stream to a file using Stream.Save() method.

from spire.presentation import *

# Create an instance of Presentation
presentation = Presentation()

# Load a PowerPoint file
presentation.LoadFromFile("Sample.pptx")

# Get a slide
slide = presentation.Slides.get_Item(4)

# Iterate through all shapes in the slide
i = 0
for shape in slide.Shapes:
  # Check if the shape is an object of SlidePicture
  if isinstance(shape, SlidePicture):
    # Save the shape as an image
    shape = shape if isinstance(shape, SlidePicture) else None
    image = slide.Shapes.SaveAsImage(slide.Shapes.IndexOf(shape), 256, 256)
    image.Save(f"output/Images/ImageShape{i}.png")
    i += 1

# Release resources
presentation.Dispose()

Apply for a Temporary License

If you'd like to remove the evaluation message from the generated documents, or to get rid of the function limitations, please request a 30-day trial license for yourself.

Using Python to manipulate text formatting in PDFs provides a powerful way to automate and customize documents. With the Spire.PDF for Python library, developers can efficiently find text with advanced search options to retrieve and modify text properties like font, size, color, and style, enabling users to find and update text formatting across large document sets, saving time and reducing manual work. This article will demonstrate how to use Spire.PDF for Python to retrieve and modify text formatting in PDF documents with Python code.

• Find Text and Retrieve the Font Information in PDFs
• Find and Modify Text Formatting in PDF Documents

Install Spire.PDF for Python

This scenario requires Spire.PDF for Python and plum-dispatch v1.7.4. They can be easily installed in your Windows through the following pip command.

pip install Spire.PDF

If you are unsure how to install, please refer to: How to Install Spire.PDF for Python on Windows

Find Text and Retrieve Formatting Information in PDFs

Developers can use the PdfTextFinder and PdfTextFindOptions classes provided by Spire.PDF for Python to precisely search for specific text in a PDF document and obtain a collection of PdfTextFragment objects representing the search results. Then, developers can access the format information of the specified search result text through properties such as FontName, FontSize, and FontFamily, under PdfTextFragment.TextStates[] property.

The detailed steps for finding text in PDF and retrieving its font information are as follows:

• Create an instance of PdfDocument class and load a PDF document using PdfDocument.LoadFromFile() method.
• Get a page using PdfDocument.Pages.get_Item() method.
• Create a PdfTextFinder object using the page.
• Create a PdfTextFindOptions object, set the search options, and apply the search options through PdfTextFinder.Options property.
• Find specific text on the page using PdfTextFinder.Find() method and get a collection of PdfTextFragment objects.
• Get the formatting of the first finding result through PdfTextFragment.TextStates property.
• Get the font name, font size, and font family of the result through PdfTextStates[0].FontName, PdfTextStates[0].FontSize, and PdfTextStates[0].FontFamily properties.
• Print the result.

from spire.pdf import *

# Create a PdfDocument instance
pdf = PdfDocument()
# Load a PDF file
pdf.LoadFromFile("Sample.pdf")

# Get the first page
page = pdf.Pages.get_Item(0)

# Create a PdfTextFinder instance
finder = PdfTextFinder(page)

# Create a PdfTextFindOptions instance and set the search options
options = PdfTextFindOptions()
options.CaseSensitive = True
options.WholeWords = True

# Apply the options
finder.Options = options

# Find the specified text
fragments = finder.Find("History and Cultural Significance:")

# Get the formatting of the first fragment
formatting = fragments[0].TextStates

# Get the formatting information
fontInfo = ""
fontInfo += "Text: " + fragments[0].Text
fontInfo += "Font: " + formatting[0].FontName
fontInfo += "\nFont Size: " + str(formatting[0].FontSize)
fontInfo += "\nFont Family: " + formatting[0].FontFamily

# Output font information
print(fontInfo)

# Release resources
pdf.Dispose()

Find and Modify Text Formatting in PDF Documents

After finding specific text, developers can overlay it with a rectangle in the same color as the background and then redraw the text in a new format at the same position, thus achieving text format modification of simple PDF text fragments on solid color pages. The detailed steps are as follows:

• Create an instance of PdfDocument class and load a PDF document using PdfDocument.LoadFromFile() method.
• Get a page using PdfDocument.Pages.get_Item() method.
• Create a PdfTextFinder object using the page.
• Create a PdfTextFindOptions object, set the search options, and apply the search options through PdfTextFinder.Options property.
• Find specific text on the page using PdfTextFinder.Find() method and get the first result.
• Get the color of the page background through PdfPageBase.BackgroundColor property and change the color to white if the background is empty.
• Draw rectangles with the obtained color in the position of the found text using PdfPageBase.Canvas.DrawRectangle() method.
• Create a new font, brush, and string format and calculate the text frame.
• Draw the text in the new format in the same position using PdfPageBase.Canvas.DrawString() method.
• Save the document using PdfDocument.SaveToFile() method.

from spire.pdf import *

# Create a PdfDocument instance
pdf = PdfDocument()
# Load a PDF file
pdf.LoadFromFile("Sample.pdf")

# Get the first page
page = pdf.Pages.get_Item(0)

# Create a PdfTextFinder instance
finder = PdfTextFinder(page)

# Create a PdfTextFindOptions instance and set the search options
options = PdfTextFindOptions()
options.CaseSensitive = True
options.WholeWords = True
finder.Options = options

# Find the specified text
fragments = finder.Find("History and Cultural Significance:")
# Get the first result
fragment = fragments[0]

# Get the background color and change it to white if its empty
backColor = page.BackgroundColor
if backColor.ToArgb() == 0:
    backColor = Color.get_White()
# Draw a rectangle with the background color to cover the text
for i in range(len(fragment.Bounds)):
    page.Canvas.DrawRectangle(PdfSolidBrush(PdfRGBColor(backColor)), fragment.Bounds[i])

# Create a new font and a new brush
font = PdfTrueTypeFont("Times New Roman", 16.0, 3, True)
brush = PdfBrushes.get_Brown()
# Create a PdfStringFormat instance
stringFormat = PdfStringFormat()
stringFormat.Alignment = PdfTextAlignment.Left
# Calculate the rectangle that contains the text
point = fragment.Bounds[0].Location
size = SizeF(fragment.Bounds[-1].Right, fragment.Bounds[-1].Bottom)
rect = RectangleF(point, size)

# Draw the text with the specified format in the same rectangle
page.Canvas.DrawString("History and Cultural Significance", font, brush, rect, stringFormat)

# Save the document
pdf.SaveToFile("output/FindModifyTextFormat.pdf")

# Release resources
pdf.Close()

Apply for a Temporary License

If you'd like to remove the evaluation message from the generated documents, or to get rid of the function limitations, please request a 30-day trial license for yourself.